FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Will Southwest's entry into the inter-island market lower fares?
Old May 16, 2019, 5:27 pm
  #63  
Alex909
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Programs: AS MVPG, HA Plat 75k, CA Phoenix Gold
Posts: 134
Booked and test-rebooked a few of the new segments KOA/OGG/HNL with a view of trying out the new interisland service and, so far, I'm really impressed. This might grow into a serious competitor. Most important: Really no change fees, even though I repeatedly rebooked the same segments. Flight schedule is convenient - there are only 4 flights/day, but these are scheduled exactly when you would want to travel. Booking website usability is first rate - IT guy here here - you can reschedule in seconds, the UI is fast, snappy, robust, no useless field entries required.

That said, I am not sure I like the way Southwest structures their fares. (They are simply adopting their existing West Coast pricing scheme.) There is too much of an emphasis on booking flights very early in order to score one of the "Wanna Get Away" fares, otherwise you face a brutal jump in price to the next tier up, with only minor benefits. (From interisland traveler point of view.) So I guess much of the possible impact on interisland fares would mostly come from frequent promotional "Wanna Get Aways".

Thanks everyone for the heads up regarding potential for delays due to mainland segments coming in late.

Last edited by Alex909; May 17, 2019 at 9:46 am
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